Alfor

King Alfor was the king of Altea, the father of Allura and the Red Paladin beforeKeith (Legendary Defender).  in Voltron: Legendary Defender.

History

Alfor was not only the King of Altea, but also the founder of a coalition of worlds that included the Galra Empire, with Zarkon being counted as one of his closest allies. He was also a devoted father who loved Allura dearly; nothing is known of his wife. Unfortunately, after creating Voltron, after Zarkon and his wife, Honerva, grew obsessed with the power of Quintessence, as well as the possibility of it giving them immortality. Honerva grew ill during her studies and Zarkon tricked the other Paladins into going into the rift in an attempt to cure her, but they were both exposed to an overdose of the substance and the creatures they once fought.

Presumed dead, Alfor evacuated the planet and gave orders to destroy it in order to close the rift forever. However the two woke up, corrupted by the Quintessence, and rallied their armies to take revenge for their planet by destroying Altea. As Galra forces invaded Altea, Allura urged forming Voltron to stop Zarkon, but Alfor feared that do so would allow Zarkon to seize control of the robot. Instead, he had Allura, his advisor Coran, and the Black Lion placed within the Castle of Lions and sent to the faraway planet Arus, while the other Lions were scattered across the universe.

Alfor's plan was at least temporarily successful in making Zarkon believe that Voltorn had been destroyed, though the entire Altean solar system was destroyed and virtually the entire Altean race. However, Alfor's memories lived on, having been recorded and preserved within the Castle of Lions. A hologram generated by the castle thus manifested Alfor's personality, and was approached by Allura for council after she was awoken some 10,000 years later by a new group of Voltron paladins. After the two spoke, Alfor revealed his regret at not taking Allura's advice so long ago and fighting Zarkon, feeling it would have been a better alternative than leaving the universe to suffer Zarkon's wrath for so long.

Some time later, Allura would visit Alfor's hologram again, and reminisce on their happy days back on Altea. Unfortunately, energy from a corrupted Balmera crystal briefly used by Sendak to power the castle corrupted the A.I., causing it to develop a split personality. The second Alfor, convinced that Allura would be doomed to a lifetime of war and hardship if she tried to challenge Zarkon, tried to eliminate or distract the Paladins while tricking Allura into believing they could return to the destroyed Altea. The illusion caused Allura to bring the castle to a sun ready to go nova, but the true Alfor was able to break through and convince Allura that she needed to disconnect him. Difficult as it was, Allura did so and bid farewell to her father, though afterwards she resolved that the hologram had never really been her father.

Gallery

Trivia

• In Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Alfor's ghost appeared to Allura and others, rather than being a hologram programmed with Alfor's memories.
• In the episode "The Ark of Taujeer", Coran says that by piloting the Red Lion he would "follow in [Alfor's] footsteps", possibly indicating that Alfor was either the original Paladin of the Red Lion or of one of the other Lions besides the Black Lion.